THE APEX TIMES
Houston brings in a front-office executive with a long scouting and acquisition background, and sets up Randy Flores as the 15th general manager in franchise history.
The Houston Astros have hired Randy Flores as their new general manager, Astros Owner and Chairman Jim Crane announced on Oct. 30. Flores becomes the 15th general manager in franchise history.
Flores, 51, joins the Astros from the St. Louis Cardinals, where he served as Assistant General Manager of Amateur and Pro Acquisition. The team says he spent eight seasons with the Cardinals in that assistant-GM role framework after joining the organization in 2015 as Director of Scouting.
Crane described the decision as the result of a thorough interview process, citing Flores’ background in scouting and player acquisition. Flores is set to work directly with Crane and the Astros leadership group as Houston transitions to a new GM leadership era.
Before returning to baseball operations, Flores played Major League Baseball for parts of eight seasons (2002-10) as a relief pitcher, appearing in more than 200 games, according to the Astros release.
Flores also has a non-baseball and college tie-in to his development. After his playing career, he returned to USC, where he earned a in Postsecondary Administration in 2014. During graduate school, the Astros release says he was USC’s pitching coach (2013), worked as a college baseball analyst for ESPN and Pac-12 Networks, and founded a sports video technology company before rejoining MLB with the Cardinals.